The sign at the entrance has changed, but Ryan Tucker, franchise owner of Andy’s Burgers, Shakes and Fries in Swansboro says the menu remains.

Tucker’s restaurant, located on West Corbett Street, is one of more than 100 Andy’s across the state changing its name to Hwy 55.

With some changes to the layout of the interior of the store, Hwy 55 tips its hat to the 1950s, presenting customers with a simple diner set-up, featuring designs and décor inspired by the era.

“The new logo and the road sign makes me think of Route 66,” he said. “The whole restaurant has more of that 50’s feel.”

The changes around the store didn’t begin until a few weeks ago, said Tucker, who has been preparing along with other Andy’s owners for the switch for about a year.

“People wanted an explanation for the changes,” said Tucker. “They were curious if Andy’s had been bought out or sold out. They see that I’m still here and we’ve talked with them to let them know about the changes.”

Tucker, who has been with the Swansboro restaurant for almost 11 years, insists that while the name has changed the restaurant is still the same.

“The menu is still the same, though they have tied in the new name, ‘Hwy 55,’ into several of the items. They have also updated the menu design so that it’s a lot easier to understand,” he said.

Hwy 55 will continue to serve the popular burgers, hot dogs, fries, shakes and frozen custard that Andy’s did, he said.

Adam Wiggins, marketing director of Hwy 55, said Andy’s announced in 2011 it was expanding outside of North Carolinafor the first time.

But when the company applied for a federal trademark, it was discovered another restaurant, Andy’s Frozen Custard out of Missouri, had the federal trademark rights to the name Andy’s, Wiggins said.

“We only had the state level trademark rights,” he said. “We were safe here in North Carolinabut we wanted to expand and there was an issue there. We just decided to change the name.”

The name change would make everything unified as the franchise continues to grow, Wiggins said.

Hwy 55 is expanding into South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, and is talking with investors in other states. A restaurant is also planned for the United Arab Emirates, Wiggins said.

In five to seven years there will be 500 new Hwy 55 restaurants, he said.

But the name change has caused comments, some good and bad, Wiggins said.

“Folks, like us, are used to the Andy’s name,” he said. “It has been Andy’s for 20 years. We would have loved to keep the name. But we wanted to expand and grow and there was just no other option.”

Page 2 of 2 - About 80 percent of the Andy’s signs have now been changed to Hwy 55, and all of them should be changed by the end of the year, Wiggins said.

“It’s just a name change — the same great food,” he said. “For the most part it has gone OK. There have not been any major issues with it.”

The name Hwy 55 came about through the founder of Andy’s, Kenny Moore, who opened the first Andy’s in Goldsboro after investing $500 in an abandoned restaurant in a mall and naming it after his son.